The Mermaid Princess (2)

"Hmph, overestimating yourself. Since you want to die, then I'll grant your wish!" Hody Jones scoffed disdainfully.

Having said that, he prepared to take action and personally deal with Jinbe. Jinbe also began to prepare for battle.

However, just as the two sides were about to come to blows, a voice suddenly rang out.

"Boss, we've caught the mermaid princess! She's already caught in our net. What should we do now?" a tuna Fish-Man rushed over and said.

"Oh, you caught it? That's great!" Hody Jones exclaimed with delight.

He was about to capture the mermaid princess; their trap had already worked. He had captured her, and now he could control her.

With the mermaid princess as a powerful ally, he no longer needed to fear anyone. After all, the mermaid princess could summon Sea Kings. What did he have to be afraid of?

"Let's go, let's go." Hody Jones became excited. Killing the king was secondary; capturing the mermaid princess was his primary objective. Now that the mermaid princess was in his hands, whether or not the king was killed was no longer important.

Once he controls the mermaid princess, destroying a king will be a piece of cake. He has absolutely nothing to worry about.

He stopped fighting Jinbe and headed straight ahead.

Jinbe did not stop Hody Jones, but went directly to King Neptune's side.

"Jinbe, don't worry about me, go and rescue my daughter, hurry!" Neptune immediately said to Jinbe.

His life was not worth losing, but his daughter could not fall into Hody Jones' hands. Because Hody Jones wanted to use his daughter to conquer other countries.

"Hehe, Your Majesty, don't worry, Princess Shirahoshi will be fine." Upon hearing this, Jinbe chuckled heartily. He laughed heartily, as if it were no big deal.

"Hmm, Jinbe, what are you laughing at? That bastard Hody wants to take advantage of Shirahoshi's terrifying abilities. Shirahoshi absolutely cannot fall into his hands." King Neptune, thinking Jinbe was unaware of Shirahoshi's importance, reiterated this point.

"Your Majesty, I understand. Don't worry, Hody Jones won't succeed." Seeing King Neptune's worried expression, Jinbe explained, "Princess Shirahoshi has someone protecting her. That guy is much stronger than Hody Jones; Hody Jones won't succeed."

His composure stemmed from his prior arrangements; he had already secretly placed people to protect Princess Shirahoshi. Even if she were captured, he had nothing to worry about.

He was aware of Princess Shirahoshi's abilities; the King had told him. That was precisely why he wouldn't allow a madman like Hody Jones to have her.

If a madman like Hody Jones gets his hands on it, he'll inevitably turn Fish-Man Island upside down.

"Oh, who is it?" King Neptune asked curiously.

"Straw Hat Pirates, Straw Hat Luffy," Jinbe said with a smile.

"Oh, is that the Straw Hat Boy who turned Marine Headquarters into a mess two years ago while he was focused on the war?" King Neptune said immediately upon hearing this.

The epic battle two years ago had been broadcast globally, and he, residing in the palace, had seen the footage. He was deeply impressed by the Straw Hat Boy.

"Yes, two years have passed, and they've all become very strong. With him protecting Princess Shirahoshi, you have absolutely nothing to worry about," Jinbe said. "That madman Hody Jones is gone, and now I can finally free up my hands to rescue you and the prince."

With Hody here, he has no chance of successfully rescuing the royal family, because Hody Jones will intervene. Although he doesn't acknowledge Hody Jones's strength, his own strength has indeed improved considerably. It will be extremely difficult for him to defeat Hody Jones in a short time.

The longer the delay, the more disadvantageous it would be for the king and his two princes.

Now that Hody Jones has abandoned the king, he can step in to rescue the king and the prince.

"Alright, go ahead and do it!" King Neptune did not refuse this time. With his daughter's situation secured, he had nothing more to worry about.

Jinbe nodded, and then immediately removed the chains from the king and the two princes as well.

After settling things off, Jinbe told the prince and king to stay there temporarily and go elsewhere to seek refuge.

This place is about to become a battlefield, and it's very dangerous for the king and prince to stay here.

"Alright." King Neptune nodded. He was now seriously injured and unable to fight. If he stayed, he would not only be unable to help Jinbe, but would also be a burden to Jinbe, preventing him from fighting with his full strength.

Soon, King Neptune and his two princes left and went to the high platform surrounding the square.

The Fish-Man wanted to give chase, but with Jinbe's formidable strength present, who dared to pursue them?

Jinbe launched a fierce attack, sending all of them flying. In the end, the Fish-Man realized that chasing the king was impossible. With Jinbe blocking their way, no one could pursue him.

"Little Fox, go and protect the King and those two princes. Anyone who dares to attack them, knock them all away!" Fanxin Xin shouted from the high platform.

Although the king and prince have been rescued, their safety is still not guaranteed. Hody Jones has many men on his side, Jinbe, Knight of the Sea, cannot possibly stop them all.

If Jinbe, Knight of the Sea, hadn't stopped them, then the king and prince could have been in grave danger.

The king and prince cannot die; they are the foundation of Fish-Man Island. With them alive, they can handle the post-war affairs effectively. No one else has that capability.

"Understood, I'll be right there." The Little Fox nodded, then it ran off in that direction. Once it reached the king's side, it sat down beside him and wouldn't leave.

King Neptune saw that it was a Little Fox and didn't pay much attention. If he had known that the Little Fox had come to protect him, he would probably have been shocked.

"Fanxin, what should we do now?" Bingfeng asked.

"Let's continue to wait. Now is not the time for us humans to make our move," Fanxin said. "Heh, but I believe our time to act is just around the corner."

"Oh, why?" Bingfeng asked, puzzled.

"Because Hody Jones captured the Little Mermaid," Fanxin said. "I heard that the Little Mermaid is known for her kindness and beauty. Hody Jones capturing her has crossed the line for the Fish-Man. At that point, they will completely despise Hody Jones."

"And that will be our time to strike. Hody Jones is courting death, knowing full well it's futile yet still doing it—isn't that going against our plan?"

"Hmm, that makes sense. But why did Hody Jones want to capture the Little Mermaid? What's his purpose?" Bingfeng asked curiously.

The Little Mermaid was just a princess; compared to the king, she was far inferior. It was truly unexpected that Hody Jones would abandon the king to capture the Little Mermaid.

"I don't know the specifics, but if Hody Jones wants to start a war, he'll definitely need to acquire more fighting power. Perhaps the Little Mermaid Princess is a formidable asset," Fanxin guessed.

"The Mermaid Princess is strong? Impossible, she's already been captured." Bingfeng was stunned, somewhat disbelieving. The Mermaid Princess was captured; if she were truly powerful, how could she have been so easily captured?

"I don't know, but given how much Hody Jones wanted her, she's definitely not weak. The reason she was captured is probably because her latent power hadn't been unleashed," Fanxin said.

"Just like my Haki, before it was unleashed, my strength wasn't great. But now that I can freely control my Haki, my strength is completely different, isn't it?"

Whether or not you control your Haki determines your strength. Having control over your Haki makes you many times more powerful than not having it—that's undeniable.

If you know you possess Haki but are unable to use it, your strength will remain at the level before you developed Haki. However, once you awaken your Haki, you can use it to strengthen yourself and gain Haki power.

"Is that so? That's quite possible." Bingfeng nodded slightly upon hearing this.

She couldn't deny it, because Fanxin was a perfect example. Fanxin wasn't very strong before, but after learning the Haki, his strength increased dramatically, making him unstoppable.

"Yes, no matter what, that princess cannot die. Later, one of you will go and protect her closely. If anyone dares to kill her, don't hesitate to kill them all." Fanxin nodded and said.

Although he didn't know what Princess Shirahoshi's abilities were, Hody Jones was so eager to have her that he had to give her some consideration.

"Understood, I'll go protect her later!" Bingfeng nodded and said.

"Yes, the rest of you can fight freely and defeat all those despicable Fish-Man," Fanxin nodded and said.

Those Fish-Man have gone mad; we must defeat them, or they won't stop easily.

Upon hearing this, everyone nodded, indicating that they understood.

After that, they said nothing more. They took the binoculars the Little Black Cat had handed them and observed Hody Jones's actions.

Meanwhile, on Hody Jones's side...

He has arrived beside Princess Shirahoshi.

Princess Shirahoshi is a giant Fish-Man. She wears a fish-shaped hair ornament, has long, wavy, flowing pink hair, bright blue eyes, a beautiful face, a full bust, and a pink fish tail in varying shades. Her size is much larger than that of an average mermaid, so even the tableware she uses is several times larger than that of an average person.

Hody Jones, standing before Princess Shirahoshi, was nothing more than a small fry.

However, Princess Shirahoshi was terrified of such a tiny person.

"Hehe, Princess Shirahoshi, I've finally waited for you to come. How are you? Now that you're here, come with me from now on, and I'll take you to conquer the world," Hody Jones said with a chuckle.

If Princess Shirahoshi agrees, things will be much easier for him. He'll gain an incredibly powerful fighting force, making him invincible from now on.

"No, I don't want to go with you. You're a big bad guy, a really, really bad guy." Upon hearing this, Princess Shirahoshi shook her head firmly without the slightest hesitation, indicating her refusal.

Hody Jones had hurt her father and brother, and she wasn't going to follow such a villain; it would anger her father and brother. Besides, she deeply loathed him.

"Hmm, you're calling me a big bad guy? Why are you calling me that?" Hody Jones said, "Just because I attacked your father and your brother? Heh, I haven't killed them yet, have I? If you come with me, I absolutely won't touch them. How about it?"

He's about to make a deal with Princess Shirahoshi. Princess Shirahoshi is a formidable force, and if her heart isn't with him, he'll have a hard time controlling Princess Shirahoshi.

If Princess Shirahoshi stays close to him, then he won't need to worry about Princess Shirahoshi retaliating against him.

"No, I won't go with you," Princess Shirahoshi said, immediately shaking her head.

"Hmph, your father and brother are both fine. What more do you want? Let me tell you, my patience is limited. If you don't agree, I'll kill them." Hody Jones shouted as soon as he saw that Princess Shirahoshi disagreed.

He was threatening her; he hoped Princess Shirahoshi would face reality and behave herself.

"Hody Jones, although you didn't kill my father and brother, you did kill my mother. My mother wasn't killed by humans; you shot her," Princess Shirahoshi said. "After shooting my mother, you framed humans and then openly caused trouble, claiming that humans shot my mother. You're a terrible villain, a truly awful villain. I will not go with you; I would rather die than go with you."

Princess Shirahoshi's words immediately caused a huge uproar. Everyone who heard them was shocked, especially the common people, who found it hard to believe.

They had some initial hesitation, because they felt that humans had killed the queen and deserved to be punished.

However, they now oppose Hody Jones without the slightest hesitation, because they know the truth: it was all Hody Jones's conspiracy.

He wanted to start a major war for his own selfish desires. His purpose was not to avenge the princess.

"You're talking nonsense." Hody Jones shouted, annoyed by the growing opposition.

"I'm not lying. My mother told me everything before she died. She told me not to hold a grudge against you, not to expose you, because she didn't want my father to execute you," Princess Shirahoshi said. "However, I must tell you today, because you're going to destroy the entire Fish-Man Island. I can no longer hide the truth."